After Claudia
by adelaidybug
Summary: This story takes place after episode 1.04, "Claudia." I've always wondered what happened after the sibling reunited, so I thought I'd write about it.
1. Chapter 1

**I've always been curious what happened between when Josh and Claudia were reunited and the beginning of "Elements," so I decided to write a fic about it. I'm not sure how long this will end up.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Warehouse 13 or any of its characters, they are the property of Jack Kenney and the Syfy network. No money has or will exchange hands regarding this work of fiction. No copyright infringement intended.**

* * *

Joshua, Artie, and Claudia had all made it successfully out of the inter-dimensional space. It took a long time for Claudia to stop holding onto her big brother, but when she finally did, Artie cleared his throat.

"Claudia, Joshua, meet Pete and Myka. They're agents that work for me."

"Nice to meet you," Josh said, while Claudia avoided eye contact with them.

"You all look awful. Why don't we go back to the B&B and get some rest?" Myka initiated.

Claudia shifted uncomfortably.

"And you two should come," Artie said, pointing at the siblings.

"Well, I guess I don't exactly have room for two at the... place I'm staying. And I haven't been to my apartment in like 6 months..."

"Come back to the B&B," Myka said again. "You two can ride with Pete and I."

The siblings complied, and soon the redheaded teen was snuggled close to her brother in the backseat of Myka's car. It seemed like she was afraid if she let go, he would disappear. She yawned and shut her eyes, yet she still buzzed with energy. He thought of the seven year old sister he left, and couldn't believe that this was her.

Pete and Myka were chatting up front, and Josh took the opportunity to talk with his baby sister.

"Claudia, how long has it been? You look so different."

"Twelve years and 18 days," she said, her voice crackling with pain.

The man let out a long breath. He had abandoned Claudia for most of her life. And for what? Some stupid experiment. He pulled his sister closer to himself, and fought to control his emotions. Throughout the long car-ride, he noticed Claudia slowly relax, and looked down to find her asleep, still nestled against him. He wanted to ask her a million questions about what he had missed in her life, but he wasn't even sure if she wanted that. Was she angry at him for abandoning her? Did she even want a relationship? He noticed a droplet of blood coming from her nose, and wiped it away with a corner of his shirt. She looked pale and exhausted, her heartbeat throbbing in her neck a bit too quickly. Joshua realized she hadn't had someone to look out for her best interests since he left. This was evident in her too-thin body, wrinkled clothing, and tousled hair. it was all his fault.

"We're here," Myka said, pulling up into the driveway of a quaint bed and breakfast.

Joshua shook Claudia's shoulder gently, trying to rouse her.

"Claudia, wake up. We're here."

She tensed and opened her eyes, pulling away from him. Her eyes darted around quickly before she noticed him.

"We're here."

"Okay," she said quickly. She unfastened her seatbelt and hopped out of the car, still looking tense and guarded. Myka led them inside, where a nice-yet strange-woman greeted them.

"You must be Claudia and Joshua. I'm Leena." She told them about the B&B, showed them around, then lead them up a flight of stairs. Stopping, she turned around and seemed to study Joshua for a long moment.

"Joshua, you'll be in this room," she said, indicating a door. Then she turned to Claudia and squinted at her, tilting her head slightly. She winced almost imperceptibly, as if seeing something in the girl's eyes, then pointed to another door.

"Here's your room. You can stay here as long as you want."

"Uh, thanks."

"Mhm." The woman studied her for another moment, then walked off, and Claudia entered the bedroom. She barely noticed the room's furnishings as she pushed off her converse, ripped off her jacket, and let herself fall onto the bed. After relishing in the comfort for a moment, she crawled toward the pillow, peeling the comforter back and slipping underneath it. She felt gross, and could scarcely remember her last shower or meal, but she was so exhausted that she didn't care. She turned once or twice, then fell deeply into sleep.

She awoke almost 24 hours later. Achy and groggy, she emerged from her room and made her way down the stairs.

"Hello Claudia." greeted Leena from the kitchen. The late afternoon sun was streaming in the windows. The whole place had such a home-y feel to it.

"Uh hi," the teenager replied awkwardly.

"How about some coffee?" Leena offered a cup toward the cautious redhead.

"Thank god," Claudia said, taking the cup and sipping from it. While she had been pushing for answers about Josh, she had allowed herself only a few hours of sleep, and relied heavily on caffeine, often drinking six or more cups of coffee a day.

"Where's Josh?"

"He said he was going to take a nap. How about I whip up something for you to eat? Are you in a breakfast mood? I could make some chocolate chip pancakes. Or maybe a sandwich?"

Claudia blinked a few times. "Uh, chocolate chip pancakes sound amazing."

"Alright, I'll have them ready in half an hour. I put some towels in your room if you want a shower."

"Okay." She went back up the stairs, grabbed the towels and went to the bathroom. Removing her clothes, she turned on the water and stepped under the stream. She couldn't think of the last time she had a long, hot shower, and while the water poured over her, she pondered the woman downstairs was. Claudia was overwhelmed and confused by how nice she was. Why did this woman care? She knew Artie was probably still guilty, but this Leena person didn't owe her anything. When she finally turned off the water and stepped out, she realized that she didn't have any clean clothes.

"Craptastic," she mumbled to herself.

Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door.

"Claudia, I have some extra clothes until you have a chance to go back and get your own. I'll just leave them outside the door here, okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

The clothes were a pair of black stretchy pants with a drawstring, and peasanty blouse. Claudia almost laughed when she looked at herself in the mirror. She looked like a hippy, but she was thankful she didn't have to put back on her grimy clothes, which hadn't been washed in far too long.

When she ventured back downstairs, the pancakes were ready, and smelled like heaven. Claudia tried to remember the last time she had real homemade food, much less something that looked even remotely appetizing, but she drew a blank. When she was living on her own, she often forgot to eat altogether because of her weird sleep schedule and intense focus. As she took the first bite, she could have sworn she had died and gone to heaven.

"Oh my _gawd._ What are you, some sort of master chef?"

"More coffee?" Leena asked, smiling.

She nodded and took the cup from Leena's hand, practically inhaling the food before her.

After 5 ginormous pancakes and another 2 cups of coffee, Claudia trudged back up the stairs. Despite now having eaten a proper meal, she still felt weak and lightheaded, but she made it to Joshua's room. Neglecting to knock, she slipped into the bedroom and found the man asleep. She was careful not to wake him as she lay down on the bed, snuggling up against him like she had when she was a little girl. After a few minutes, her exhaustion caught up with her once more, and she fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, sorry I've been AWOL. I'm finally done with all my finals, so I should by posting more often now.  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Warehouse 13 or any of its characters, they are the property of Jack Kenney and the Syfy network. No money has or will exchange hands regarding this work of fiction. No copyright infringement intended.**

* * *

When Claudia woke up again later that evening, she grabbed Joshua's shoulder and shook it.

"Hey!" the man protested groggily.

"Sorry."

"Be gentle. Shoulders aren't toys."

Claudia snickered, then sobered. She wasn't used to human contact, affection, or kidding around with anyone.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah. Really well."

"Good. I did too. Claudia, I want to talk about stuff…"

"Stuff?"

"I'm so sorry I left you. I'm so sorry I missed out on your life for 12 years, and if you're willing, I'd like to hear about what I missed."

"Josh, it's… it's a lot."

"What do you mean?"

"A lot has happened since you left. I don't really want to get into it all."

"But I hardly know anything about you."

"Fine, then I'll tell you about myself now. But l want to leave the past in the past, understand?"

"Okay. So what do you like? What are your interests?"  
"Technology; computers, circuitry, and hacking. Also Quidditch, but that's more of a lifestyle than an interest."

"Wait a minute, how many Harry Potters are there now?"

"Seven. And they're making movies too!"

"We need to watch those. But yeah, you were pretty good with computers even when you were little. What else do you like? Do you have any hobbies?"

"Uh, not really. I mean, ever since I was 14, I've been focusing on working and getting you back."

"Why 14?"

"Uh, well…. That's when I started living on my own."

"What?"

"Josh, I told you I didn't want to get into that."

"But- 14?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry, Claudia. I'm so sorry…." The man had tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry for being so stupid and reckless. I'm sorry for abandoning you."

"Josh…" The girl wrapped her arms around her big brother. "It's okay. Really, it's okay. I've never been mad at you. It wasn't your fault." She felt awkward trying to comfort her big brother. She realized that because of all the artifact weirdness, he wasn't that much older than she was.

"Yes it was. It was all my fault."

"It would have worked if you knew about the secret panel."

"But I didn't, and then I left you all alone."

"It's okay," she said, hugging him tighter. "I'm fine, you're fine. We're both just fine."

* * *

At supper that night, Pete noticed Claudia wolfing down her food like it was going out of style. A little pang went off in his heart as he realized she wasn't used to home-cooked meals, or regular nutritious meals in general. The young woman's pale skin and dark under-eye circles spoke of her condition more than she ever would verbally. She needed rest, and food, and safety. But more than that, he suspected she needed a friend.

"Hey, do you two want to watch a movie tonight?"

"Uh, sure." Claudia replied. Pete had noticed that she was hesitant about accepting anything from anyone.

"Are you into Harry Potter?"

"Uh, are the Doctor and Rose clearly meant for each other?" Claudia quipped.

"Yes! We are officially doing a Harry Potter marathon. And then a Doctor Who marathon."

"Thank god. We need to catch Josh up on Doctor Who and HP ASAP."

"At least Doctor Who is still going. Who is this "Rose?"

Claudia and Pete just glanced at each other knowingly.

* * *

"Hey Claudia," Myka spoke up during breakfast the next morning.

"Yeah?" the young woman answered with her mouth half-full. Everyone had noticed how starved the girl was, and Leena had taken to dishing everyone out their food herself so she could make sure to heap a little extra on Claudia's plate.

"I have some time today, so I was thinking I could take you to pick up a few things from… wherever you're living?"

"Uh, sure. That'd be good."

"Hey, I'll tag along," Josh said, "I'd like to see where you're living."

Claude choked on her oatmeal and coughed a few times, turning red. Pete pounded her on the back a few times, and finally she settled down.

"Uh… yeah, cool. Let's go."

They drove for nearly an hour back to Sioux Falls. Claudia directed them through increasingly seedy neighborhoods until she finally told them to stop in front of a crappy apartment building.

"I'll be right back," she said, hopping out of the front seat and disappearing into the building.

"_This _is where she's living?"

"She had a nicer apartment, but it's like a half-hour away from the lab. I'm guessing she was just staying here temporarily so she could dig for answers."

A few minutes later, Claudia emerged from the building carrying a messenger bag.

"Did you get everything you needed?" Myka asked.

"Yup, this is all I had there."

"How long have you been staying there?" Josh asked as they began the drive back to the B&B.

"2 months. After I got out of the psych ward I-" The woman's eyes widened when she realized what she had just said.

"You were in a psych ward?"

"Yeah. Um… Apparently people think you're crazy when you hear your dead brother talking to you."

"Oh."

"We don't need to talk about it, though."

"Okay..."

"Anyway, today we're tackling basic internet and Youtube."

"Hey, we had internet before I left."

The woman laughed. "Yeah… It has advanced a little bit since 1999..."

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**Thanks for reading and I'd love to get reviews about what you like or suggestions for the story!**


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